


We do what we wanna do

by Anonymous



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Abduction, Drugs, Family Feels, Family Fluff, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I Tried, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Mentioned EXO (EXO), Mentioned Red Velvet Ensemble, Mentioned SHINee Ensemble, Missions, Original Character(s), Party, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Smoking, Some Humor, Some Plot, Sort Of, Spies & Secret Agents, i don't know what this is, they work with Donghyuk's ex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:15:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27959003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: In a world where Team NCT is part of the big SMTown agency, five boys - Haechan, Jeno, Jain, YangYang and Renjun - get the oportunity for a small and supposedly easy mission. '00 line is wild and they suggest going all the way with said mission
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72
Collections: Anonymous





	We do what we wanna do

**Author's Note:**

> So! This was purely my rant, because I've had too much to study for, it's just a way to express my thought so forgive me if you remain completely disaoppinted or have no idea what you just read....author's block is nightmare and i really want to write but multiple factors stop me. I hope you enjoy it nontheless, love you <3  
> The tags are just to be safem a lot of things are not graphic, if i've described something, it's really minor, but tags and rate are just to be safe

SM Town sure had lots of agents under it. Those agents usually worked under different units. Some of them were scouted among the crowd, somehow always spotted, the qualities they had unknown to the people who possessed them, while other somehow found a way to send their application. Through the years there were a lot of groups that were formed, the people in them going through severe training, having their natural talents polished and developing the other basics in which they lacked. It wasn't discussed through the public, but everyone knew that teams like EXO, SHINee, NCT, Red Velvet and more existed. There were even rumors about a new team, consisting of the best and most skilled members of the already existing teams. But there was no hard evidence.

NCT was for sure the team with most members: 23 members and counting, different nationalities gathered in one place, going from Korean, to Chinese, Japanese and even a German. Since they were too many people, the whole team was divided into 4 subunits - NCT U, NCT 127, NCT DREAM AND WAYV, even though most of them were parts of more than just one subunit.

An interesting bunch, all of them having spent time with each other during different parts of their training. The age varied, going from the oldest who was 26 years old to the youngest, who was 18. Each subunit had its own kind of missions they were going to take part in.

NCT 127 was the unit that took care of most of the missions, working mostly in Korea, the difficulty in said mission being a variability. It could be to something that could be handled in the span of a few hours, no one getting hurt or something serious to the extent of taking a few months, more often than not, some of them getting hurt and some members getting a one-way ticket to the hospital.

NCT U was the subunit that was given the least missions. It was mostly the subunit that took care of the missions that were not typical, always different people participating in each mission, so it can be assumed that soon everyone will go through that unit sooner or later. There were cases where this unit was the "just-in-case" unit. It had its privileges.

NCT DREAM were the sub unit that took the easiest missions, considering that the youngest members were put in it. No matter how crazy their higher ups were (which was a lot, mind you), they would never send the youngest on a mission with high risk of death, human trafficking or a drug deal. Most of the time it consisted of keeping someone safe, preferably the client being as close to their age as possible.

WAYV was that one unit that took missions away from Korea, some of you could try to guess but their working field was China. The Chinese members in NCT, the Thai and the German (half-German, half-Chinese) member were the ones in that subunit because no one knew why but they were the only ones who could pull off a mission in China. Every other try always ended with a failure.

The two new members – a Korean and a Japanese boy – were still preparing and were anticipating to be a part of a new mission. Rumor says that things for them will start around October, in almost no time, considering it was the middle of August. It’s also known that they will become members of NCT U in the beginning, but after that they’ll join a freshly new unit. Only time will show. Considering how fast-paced was everything, pretty soon everyone was going to be a part of NCT U.

But mostly everyone now talked about the so-called ultimate team, more powerful than the other teams that already existed in SM Town. Only the agents knew its name: SuperM. Said new team consisted of 7 members, all of them already being part of the existing teams: Taemin from SHINee, the team that's been around the longest, Baekhyun and Kai from team EXO and Ten, Lucas, Taeyong and Mark from NCT. Ten and Lucas were part of both NCT U and WAYV, Mark was literally in every unit because of his many talents and Taeyong was part of both NCT U and NCT 127, also said leader of NCT.

You could imagine how the situation was just peachy.

* * *

Donghyuk didn't like the situation one bit. He didn't know if he was sitting in the meeting room as a member of NCT DREAM or NCT 127. Or could it be NCT U?

 **Name:** Lee Donghyuk

 **Code name:** Haechan

 **Date of birth:** June 6th, 2000

 **Team:** NCT; **Sub units** : NCT 127, NCT DREAM, NCT U

 **Speciality:** interrogation, wide-range combat, mostly on the sidelines when in offence

When Donghyuk turned around to look at the faces of the other four people who were present, he couldn't understand what was the meaning behind the meeting, considering all of them were members of different units. As he sat on the couch, Donghyuk started inspecting again his friends, who were sitting wherever they could find some free space.

Three people sat on the couch. Closest to him was Jeno, Jaemin was on the other end of the couch and Renjun was between them, a bit squished in his spot but not seeming to complain one bit.

 **Name:** Lee Jeno

 **Code name:** Jeno

 **Date of birth:** 23th April, 2000

 **Team:** NCT; **Sub unit** : NCT DREAM

 **Specialty:** mainly in wide range combat, protects the strategist

Jaemin started snapping his fingers, obviously not being able to hold in his anxiety for too long.

 **Name:** Na Jaemin

 **Code name:** Jaemin

 **Date of birth:** 13th August, 2000

 **Team:** NCT; **Sub unit** : NCT DREAM

 **Specialy:** mainly in close range combat, knows the basics of wide range combat, protects the strategist.

Renjun seemed on edge as well, easily irritated by the constant snapping sounds produced by Jaemin. He grabbed the latter's hand and held it firmly, hissing to cut it out and allowing Jeno to hold both of their hands.

 **Name:** Huang Renjun

 **Code name:** Renjun

 **Date of birth:** 23th March, 2000

 **Team:** NCT; **Sub unit:** NCT DREAM

 **Specialty:** strategist

Donghyuk just chuckled, already used to the three's antics and looked at the last person at whom he hadn't looked at in the last 5 minutes. Yangyang just sat in the armchair opposite of his, arms crossed behind his head, legs dangling from the other hand rest, watching the ceiling and whistling quietly to an unknown melody.

 **Name:** Liu YangYang

 **Code name:** YangYang

 **Date of birth:** 10th October, 2000

 **Team:** NCT; **Sub unit:** WAYV

 **Specialty:** the gambler or the trickster, the master brain when the mission requires trickery

Donghyuk couldn't stop himself from wondering why they were called for. True, he was part of 3/4 of the sub units, he was together in one of them with Jeno, Jaemin and Renjun and yet, why was YangYang called? Don't get him wrong, the five of them were close friends even if they weren't together most of the time. Them being the same age and the most in number of their year helped a lot with the bonding process. He of course noticed that only they were called, a same age group (excluding Shotaro, who still wasn’t deemed ready). They weren't the only big group with people the same age. There were also the '99 liners, who were 4 in total. But Hyuck had the suspicion that for this supposed mission younger people were needed. That and the fact that half of the '99 group wasn't available. Damn Lucas and Mark for being in SuperM.

Donghyuk snorted. Jaemin chuckled at the sound.

''Don't sulk around now, Hyukie'' said Jaemin, sending him a small fraction of his brilliant smile while the other two were still playing with his hand.

''I'm not sulking. I'm trying to think of a reason why we were called''

Yangyang stifled a giggle. ''Dude, no offence and all but that snort was totally the 'Mark-hyung is an idiot and I'm still mad at him' which, however'' Yangyang raised his hand the moment Hyuk opened his mouth to protest ''is completely understandable. I mean, I'm kinda mad and I'm pretty sure yours is worse right now. Still, it's been almost two months, haven't you two talked it out?''

No, they haven't ''talked it out''. Or talked at all in that matter. Not since SuperM went in America to deal with their mission that they couldn't talk about with the rest of them. It wasn't the secrecy that put him on edge with his members.

It was the fact that two months ago NCT 127 had a mission that didn't end with flying colors if you got what Donghyuk meant. It was supposed to be a routine mission in which they were supposed to supervise an important charity event, at least that was what most of them were told. Taeyong and Johnny were the only ones who knew of the high chance of a terrorist attack. Cool, right? So, when everything went south, somehow miraculously going through the whole ordeal without casualties, they were all pretty much beaten up. Dealing with the people responsible for this, trying to evacuate the panicked people and to deactivate the bomb, created pure havoc among them and their system. For some unknown reason the team couldn't function.

Donghyuk had a pretty close call as well. He and Jungwoo had managed to catch one of the attackers and find out the location of the bomb. In the end, because that was his hyung's specialty, while Jungwoo did his work, suddenly Haechan found himself surrounded by too many people and the inability to call for help. Even if he was able to fight, use a weapon and whatsoever, he wasn't as skilled as the others, since he had it in him to run his mouth a lot and do the interrogations (some said he could be really scary when he got into that zone, even Doyoung confirmed it) he was pretty much screwed. No joke, he really thought he was going to die during that one time, considering how he got shot in the leg. Hyuk still considered it a miracle how Yuta had shown and saved their asses.

Most of the 127 team were benched for a few months because of the whole ordeal. Even if Mark and Taeyong were supposed to take it easy and rest together with the others, when they were given a mission about SuperM (which they could've declined) both of them took it gladly. Mark and Donghyuk had a really big fight which ended with a lot of yelling, slamming doors on Donghyuk's part and ignoring from both sides. Someone would've thought that being together for a year and knowing each other since their early teens could make things easier.

Well, it didn't which made the comment from YangYang truer.

''No and for the record I won't-''

That's when the door opened and the chief of their team entered. To be honest, Donghyuck really admired that person, because even if there was staff that took care of a unit, their team manager had to take care of the whole ordeal. When he entered and the five boys saw the folder, they kept their quiet, the tension palpable.

‘’So’’ started their manager ‘’I have a mission that just came, something that I don’t think will be a problem. Firstly, because you guys know the people and second, it concerns your sphere of socializing’’

Honest to god, Hyuck begged it wasn’t another protection mission, those were the most boring ones.

‘’There’s a party that’s to be hosted this weekend, it’s supposed to be very big and in the house of a boy from your university, I believe you’ve heard about it?

The five boys looked at each other. They had, they were even invited by the person who organized it: Hwang Hyunjin. They were really good friend, but said boy was part of something, no one knew what. What they did know is that he had lots of connections.

‘’Our intel has informed us that a big deal is about to happen. One of the big shot organizations that’s dealing with weapon delivery is about to have a transfer tonight. What we know for sure is that the inventor of this innovative weapon is going to be there partying, that this person is your age and that he is supposed to meet with someone of the other gang. We shouldn’t let that happen. We don’t know what the weapon is for now, the rumors are too much and our intel couldn’t find the real information.’’

‘’What’s our job then?’’ asked Donghyuk, clutching his hands. He had an idea what the whole deal was about, even suspected who said inventor was.

‘’Your job is to identify the inventor of the weapons and track them to the base. From what we’ve gathered, the construction and transfer of said weapon will take time. Of course we won’t be as stupid as to think they’re going to use the same place twice, if you manage to put a tracking device, that would be enough for now.’’

The boys kept their quiet, but all of them were widely thinking of what they could do and how to proceed. They all had some sort of a hunch and looking into the eyes of the other four they just understood how all of them had something in mind.

‘’I’m leaving you to decide until tomorrow noon if you’re willing to participate. This is one of the rare exceptions I’m doing, considering that a lot of you have been working really hard these past few months, bearing some injuries nonetheless. So I-‘’

‘’I don’t think there’s any need for that, sir’’ said YangYang, getting up from his seat and stretching. ‘’I can give my answer right away, knowing these guys here, they’ve already decided.’’

Renjun just scoffed and then smiled. ‘’I’m in, I’ve been really bored lately.’’

‘’Then count us in then.’’ Said Jaemin while shaking Jeno’s shoulder.

They all looked towards Donghyuk. The truth is Donghyuk had decided that he would go on whatever goddamn mission they had to offer him. He was good at his job and he loved the thrill. Still, part of him remembered the last time he and Mark talked, if their yelling and screaming at each other could be called a conversation.

_Who told you you can decide for me? Who are you to decide for me and to tell me what to do? This is my choice, mine only! I can do whatever I want with my life and health!_

‘’I’m in’’ shrugged Donghyuk.

* * *

The five of them were sitting in the big conference room, planning carefully what they would do until the weekend. They were alone, the others doing their own things.

‘’So, let’s discuss what to do. Knowing you guys, we all have some information, so let’s start coming up with a plan’’ said Renjun, taking out his notepad and opening his notes.

‘’Okay, so, first question’’ started Jeno ‘’we were all invited to this party, right?’’

‘’Yeah, I was with Jaemin and YangYang when we got invited. We were heading towards the car when we crossed paths with Hyunjin.’’ Murmured Renjun while taking notes.

‘’Yeah, I have English with him so he invited me back then as well.’’ Said Donghyuk.

‘’Cool, we were together at practice’’

‘’Second thing’’ murmured Renjun ‘’I think it’s a good idea to think of a plan to locate the inventor. Somehow to gather more information. We could use some of Doyoung-hyung’s friends or his intel?’’

‘’Nah it’s too risky.’’ Said Jaemin while drinking his coffee from hell. That thing looked as black and as thick as oil.

‘’Why Nana?’’ asked Jeno confused.

‘’I don’t know, call me selfish or reckless but I want to do this without using other people’s help. Really, I love Doyoung-hyung but he can be a bit overbearing.’’ He sighed. ‘’This is our mission; I want us to handle with it by ourselves.’’

‘’I get what you mean, but the hyungs could help us. They’re more experienced, they could give us some tips.’’ Countered Renjun.

‘’No, I’m with Jaemin on this, this is our first mission together as NCT U, I want to show that I’m being able to do it without being pampered.’’ Stated YangYang.

‘’I’m with Injun on this one, sorry Nana’’ argued Jeno.

‘’Haechan? It’s all up to you’’ said Renjun.

Donghyuk really appreciated it. He knew they all would go with whatever its decided, even if they don’t personally agree with it. But he did want to prove himself too. He loved everyone from the big team he was part off. Hell, he loved his boyfriend even though he didn’t know what their status was or how he hadn’t killed him yet. He wanted to show the older members he was capable, last time he was with NCT U, he was the youngest and they always babied him. It was time for a change.

‘’I’m with YangYang and Jaemin on this.’’

Silence spread among them and then they all started laughing.

‘’Damn, one time to try and be the responsible. Thanks though, I wanted to try something new’’ said Renjun smiled. Jaemin ruffled his hair and started obnoxiously yelling with YangYang.

Haechan raised his hand in the air and whistled after that so that he could gather everyone’s attention. ‘’ I have an idea how we could try and find our target’’ said Hyuck, although everyone was aware that there was a catch to it. ‘’And as I see that you’re going to ask, I’m calling Jihoo tomorrow and yes, I’ve thought this through. We’ve remained friends and even keep in touch from time to time. ‘

‘’I’m not sure if asking your ex is a such a great idea’’ murmured Jeno.

‘’But you guys know what he’s like, we all know that he has actually sold some stuff’’

‘’Yeah, and the only reason why we haven’t reported him yet is because one of his tools saved your and Mark’s life’’ interjected YangYang

‘’Probably another reason why Mark obviously doesn’t like him’’ murmured Renjun as he kept taking notes on his notepad. Everyone snickered.

‘’What I’m saying is that there’s a high possibility that he knows the person. We find him, we track him and BOOM! We get our part done.’’

‘’Actually, I have an idea.’’ Excitedly jumped around YangYang. ‘’ Why don’t we interject and actually not only follow the creeps but also finish this whole thing once and for all?’’

They all kept silent until Renjun spoke. ‘’Am I crazy or does this sound like a good idea?’’

‘’I would’ve said the same thing. Nice work! Like, why not?! We are all going to track those guys, let’s finish the job.’’

‘’Okay, I’ll text Jihoo, in the meantime what’s next on the list?’’ asked Donghyuk while typing really fast on his phone.

‘’Um, oh yeah! Who’s going to lead the mission?’’ asked Renjun.

‘’Isn’t it obvious?’’ said Jeno, small glint in his eyes ‘’ we will have no leader, it won’t be the first time and we know that usually the U missions have no leader. ‘’

‘’Fair enough’’ shrugged Renjun and wrote it down. At the same moment Donghyuk’s phone ringed.

‘’Tomorrow, 3:00pm, at the local Café. That’s where we’re supposed to meet. Anyone with me or am I to go alone?’’ asked Hyuck, already checking his schedule.

‘’All of us Hyuckie, all of us’’ smiled Jaemin with his well-known devilish smile.

* * *

‘’You mean to tell me’’ started Donghyuk since he was the first to recollect from the information ‘’ that you’re the supposed dude that will sell the weapon….’’

Jihoo chuckled, not sounding the slightest bit amused. ‘’Yes Hyuck, that’s what I said’’

‘’ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!’’ screeched Hyuk, too late realizing that they’re out in public.

‘’Honest to god, we really should’ve taken you into custody back then.’’ Said Renjun as he was pale, silently fuming. ‘’Give me one reason why we shouldn’t do it now’’ he seethed.

‘’Because we may have one common enemy. Not to mention as I’m the creator of said weapon, I can actually tell you more about it. It’s up to you but it’s of best interest for both our sides to work together.’’

They were sitting into the more secluded area, outside in the garden, far away from curious ears. Donghyuk thought about the possibility as he checked his phone for the hundredth time. Even though he hadn’t apologized or backed off of their argument, the habit of checking for messages from Mark never left. They were both stubborn to a fault, it was difficult for them to back down and the main reason why they did was because they were forced to meet each other and talk their shit out. In their current situation since Mark was in America, things became even more complicated. But it didn’t mean Hyuck wasn’t secretly waiting for a message.

‘’Alright, let’s hear what you have to say’’ says Jeno as he loops his arm around Jamin’s.

‘’Okay, so. Recently I’ve been working on a new type of weapon. Its whole concept is weird, had a dream about it and worked on it for nearly half a year. It’s as simple as it is weird. A tiny capsule, full with a combination of sedative, proteins, painkillers and adrenalin. We all know that if they start working simultaneously, the person is a goner. But I’ve been using different techniques as to make them work in different periods of time. Let’s say a lot of the results weren’t really nice, especially in the beginning. I don’t even know how I managed to figure it out but in the end I did. In no time I managed to create it. ‘’

‘’And with what purpose exactly?’’ asked YangYang as he sipped on his strawberry smoothie.

‘’To create invincible soldiers or at least invincible enough for during a mission. The sedative effect would help when needed to lose consciousness, for example cover mission or something of that sort; the proteins are for something your body to use so that it actually doesn’t starve while you’re out of it – depending on the dosage it could be for a very long time bit no more than 8 hours; painkillers for when you’re wounded or going through severe traumas; adrenalin for the actual action and to help wake you up from the sedative. I’ve even managed to make them in different proportions, when to activate, it’s really wild. I was going to offer it to the military, I’m not searching for conflicts.’’

Hyuck knew as much, his ex had a brilliant mind but also the tendency to get into trouble, unfortunately he used to take Donghyuk in some cases with him.

‘’Unfortunately, this weird big shot gang actually sniffed me. They offered me money, all the drill but with this little threat for my life as some gratis package.’’

The five boys gaped at him. The situation wasn’t very good.

‘’So yeah, I either sell it to them or I die and sorry but I have a lot of things to do. That’s why I’m suggesting we work together: you get your bad guys, I get my safety. Simple as that, nothing more. They don’t follow me for your peace of mind, they tried, but I found the tracker and put fake address on it so no one knows what I’m doing.’’

The boys were deeply in thought. The plan was moving faster than predicted.

Jaemin spoke. ‘’What do you have as information that we can use?’’

‘’I have the location and time of the meeting, also the drug’’ Jihoo shrugged like it was no big deal.

‘’I have an idea’’ Renjun. ‘’ Look, I’m not going to sugar coat anything, we don’t trust you, we kind of didn’t while you two were dating and now even less.’’

‘’Team Mark it is, got it’’ snickered Jihoo.

‘’And I think I may have come with a plan. Do you have lots of those pills?’’ asked Renjun as he bent over his knees, his ice frappe long forgotten.

Jihoo thought for a moment, then nodded, completely serious. ‘’Yeah, I’ve made a lot, if something I could try and make some more although it’ll take some time. Why?’’

Renjun smirked ‘’ Because we’re going to use them.’’

The reaction of the rest of the boys varied: from chocking on their drinks (Jeno and Haechan) to dropping them (Jaemin and YangYang) and a whistle of surprise.

‘’Damn’’ chuckled Jihoo “I must say I’m impressed, never took you for that type of guy’’

‘’Believe me. I’m not. When the day comes, tell them that you have the things and that you found some people to use it on to. I guess that you still haven’t demonstrated its effect? Out of safety precautions?’’

‘’Nope’’

‘’Then it’s simple as that. We’re going to be the bait’’

Jihoo got up from his chair. ‘’Look, Renjun, it’s not that I don’t like the idea, believe me, I love it. It’s rash and reckless and totally insane and I’m down for it. But from all five of you I actually trust Donghyuck the most, never mind him and I being exes, he’s a close friend to me. I want to know what he really thinks. You can’t blame me for not wanting to be on Mark’s bad side yet again’’

‘’Mark Lee can mind his own business. this is between us; he is not part of it.’’ Said Hyuck as he also got up from his chair.

‘’Damn, you two fighting again? It looks serious. Seeing how you’re still wearing the bracelet he gave you, you two will make up. I have a good gut feeling about those stuff.’’

‘’Just like you did about us two?’’Hyuck asked, thickly swallowing, remembering how one of their main reasons to fight while they dated was Jihoo, telling him to break it off because Hyuck had feelings for Mark.

‘’Yes buddy, just like I did back then. Now, what do you say? Do you trust me with this? Remember, this is using of experimental drugs, they’re going to kidnap you, high possibility of death. Not to mention, the drug may have some serious side effects since I’ve been working on it for a short while and it’s not nothing simple.’’

_You can’t tell me what to do! This is my life Hyuck, I get to risk it however I want!_

‘’You’re on dude’’ Hyuck said as he shook his hand.

* * *

‘’Are you ready?’’ asked YangYang as he was bouncing on his heel. The five of them were in front of the house, ready to start their mission. Well, technically speaking, they logged into the system before they went and started the mission, because of the need for protocols and etc.

They had met Chenle and Jisung, who said they were planning on training with Sungchan and Shotaro. The boys said about the paty when asked, but just that.

Donghyuk was conflicted from the very beginning of the mission. Whenever he and Mark went on missions together, they would hug for solid seconds, when the crushing pressure would assure the younger of the two that it was just an ordinary thing to do, even if the mission was life-threatening. In the cases when only one of them was on a mission (mostly Mark), they would send each other one last message before starting. The boys had decided to leave their phones and to take the disposable phones just in case something happens and to have an easier access to the system. Just before he left, when Renjun came to pick him up, he texted Mark for the first time in two months. He just left the first thing that crossed his mind and it was _I love you_.

The plan was to split in two groups: first one being Jaemin, Jeno and Renjun as they were the inseparable trio and the other one being YangYang and Haechan since Haechan knew some basic self-defense and YangYang always managed to find a way out. The two of them most of the time had someone to cover their backs but considering that their mission was only to track someone (leaving the fact that they refused to seek for help), they weren’t assigned any guards. During missions YangYang was usually guarded by Ten and Haechan was guarded by Mark. Well, we all know where they were.

The plan was simple: since it was still barely 9:00pm they were all to split into two main groups and keep each other busy. Jihoo would appear some time later and casually meet all of them to slip them the pills, since they were unable to meet during the rest of the week. YangYang and Haechan were supposed to split as well, for YangYang would meet Hyunjin and ask him to use his computer to track down a car with a specific plate number. Haechan would stick after that to Jihoo, no one would find it suspicious considering everyone knew them and their story.

And so the plan began.

* * *

Jaemin went to play beer pong (since the bastard was really good in it) and was winning the game, while Jeno was watching him but also keeping close look at Renjun. Renjun was at the dance floor, dancing, having fun but also keeping close eye in case Jihoo showed up. The colors were blurring around them, adrenalin taking over their bodies and engulfing their senses. How easy it would be for the three of them to pretend that they were just partying, that their positions weren’t like this because they had to search for a certain person and keep an eye on each other. How easy it would be for them to kiss each other, be it under the influence of alcohol or just the music and blur of colors.

As Renjun was dancing he felt someone’s presence behind him. With his peripheral vision he saw Jaemin tense but also how Jeno gave him the “no danger” sign. When Renjun turned around, he saw Jihoo.

He saw why Haechan was attracted to him back then, why he fell for the boy who saw him for who he was, because one major problem Mark had was how he refused to believe Donghyuk had grown up. Jihoo wasn’t a bad person, per see. Renjun really wanted to dislike him and he kind of did because of the dangerous experiments he did. But he couldn’t do it to the full extent because some of those things were really helpful. They saved their friends’ lives.

Jihoo beckoned him to come closer. He put his hands on Renjun’s hips and led him through some slow dancing. Renjun got the vibe and just let his body follow the melody. He could feel stares at his back the moment Jihoo put his hand in the back pocket of his jeans. Then he came close enough to his ear to whisper. ‘’Like we talked, tell them to keep the capsules in their mouth and when they get the signal to chew it and swallow it.’’

Renjun nodded and Jihoo disappeared into the crowd.

Not wasting time but also not rushing he went towards his bodyguards and tookthem the couch. Jeno and Jaemin sat next to each other, seeing how Renjun took something out of his pocket and just sliding it over his mouth. He sat in Jeno’s lap and beckoned Jamin’s face closer to his. He caressed it gently, just like every time and then kissed him. Whenever kissing Jaemin he would start slow, turning heated really fast, especially when Jeno trailed wet kisses down his neck. When Jeno found that sensitive spot on his neck he moaned and Jaemin used it as cue to sneak his tongue into his mouth. As if this had been done millions of times before, Renjun used the opportunity to swap the capsule from his mouth to Jaemin’s, while feeling the wondering hands of the two boys.

After that he turned towards Jeno, whom he kissed a lot deeper than Jaemin. The youngest among the three used his chance to trail kisses behind the smaller boy’s ears, finding his favorite place that made the Chinese shiver. This time Renjun was the one to use the opportunity and slip his tongue into Jeno’s mouth. He felt how Jeno growled at the action, never getting tired of kissing him.

When they were done Renjun let the other two have their time as well, meanwhile kissing whatever skin on their necks and collarbones he could reach. Maybe they really could’ve used an easier way for this but where’s the fun in that?

* * *

YangYang was by the small pool, using water guns while participating in water war and winning so far. He heard someone approach and found it was Jihoo. The other boy just smiled and gave him a bowl full of water balloons. He came closer to him and whispered ‘’Be careful, some of those are a bit special’’ and then disappeared. YangYang excused himself and went into the bathroom, no one noticed or cared about the big bowl with balloons in it. When the boy entered the bathroom and made sure he locked the door, he started popping the balloons one by one. The last one he found was a bit smaller and emptier. In the inside of it was s mini plastic ball with the capsule. YangYang laughed.

‘’What a nerd…’’ he said as he put it in his mouth and was careful not to pop it.

As he was getting out of the bathroom, he saw Hyunjin in the distance. When he got to him he was talking to some random girl which name YangYang knew, but couldn’t remember (maybe it was Yeji).

‘’Hey dude!’’ yelled YangYang since the music was too loud.

‘’Yeah?’’ said Hyunjin as he leaned closer.

‘’I need to use your computer, about that favor…’’

Hyunjin looked at him with his deep gaze and then nodded.

He got upstairs, grabbing a granola bar on his way. The boy managed to enter the system of the security cameras and started waiting. Man, that was his biggest nightmare, such a boring task, during his training they made him do it all the time because he always missed details. Hopefully, he won’t have to do it soon again.

* * *

Haechan was hiding near the garden’s shelter, thinking about lots of things (for example his code name Full Sun and Mark) and searching for Jihoo.

Donghyuk had some time to think and panic about the message he sent Mark. Had he seen it, had he received it, had he answered, was he worried. He even wondered what was the point of their argument; he was sad and kind of lonely and he was pretty sure Mark was the same. Haechan knew that boy from the inside-out.

The everything started happening too fast.

Jihoo was coming towards him, trying to make it look casual but it was obvious he was rushing towards him. When he reached Donghyuk he covered him with his body so that less people saw them questions wouldn’t arise.

‘’Excuse me captain obvious, but your walk wasn’t as relaxed as you probably hoped it to be’’ Donghyuk scoffed.

‘’What if I wanted to have some more time with you? Just because we used to date, doesn’t mean we can’t be civil. Which we are.’’ Jihoo was babbling, sure sign he was nervous.

‘’Do you have a cigarette to lend me?’’ asked Hyuck, his fingers tingling, anticipating the big gig to start.

‘’You know those are not good for the health, right? What would Mark say, huh?’’ joked Jihoo, taking out one, lighting it and taking a shot before giving it to Haechan.

Donghyuk chuckled before inhaling the nicotine himself ‘’You’re telling me this now, when I’m about to take some new experimental drug soon, which is where, exactly?’’ he asked, coming closer and having a look at the boy before him, searching for a sign of the pills.

‘’I’ll give it to you when the time comes, which I assume will be soon.’’ Jihoo whispered as he took the cigarette back.

‘’Old habits die hard, sharing was one of your favorite things before. Anyway, why ask about Mark, you’ve been really obsessed with him. Don’t tell me you have the hots for my man now’’ They both laughed.

‘’No, no Hyuck, he’s all yours. I’m just worried about you. We ended what we have on good terms but I’m still concerned sometimes. I only want you to be happy and you certainly don’t seem fine with this argument.’’

Hyuck hummed, taking another shot from the cigarette before stomping on it. ‘’Yeah, we’re both really stubborn but we’ll get better. It’s what we do.’’

‘’I sure hope so or else I’ll castrate him’’

Before Hyuck could say anything, he felt the phone buzzing with a message from YangYang.

_HERE_

_‘’_ Do you have the pill?’’

‘’I’ll take care of that, tell your friends to go somewhere obvious in front of the house and to eat the capsules, they need around 10 minutes for the effects to kick in. I’ve told them the way they’d be recognized’’

‘’Okay, so I’m going too-‘’ he was saying and trying to move past Jihoo when the other boy stopped him. ‘’What are you doing?’’ Haechan asked, tensing and preparing to fight.

‘’I’ll be the one to give you to them.’’ Haechan looked mortified ‘’No, Hyuk, LISTEN! I’m doing it so that I can put you together with the others and so that I can know where all of you are. I need to be able to provide some stuff if possible in case the side effects get too strong. Here, eat it and walk with me.’’

Donghyuk looked at the small pill and after a second of hesitation, he took it and texted the others what Jihoo told him. After that the two of them started making their way towards the front of the house. Suddenly he started feeling weak in the knees and his mind going blurry. Jihoo caught him in time and started supporting him, making it seem like he was just helping another drunk friend. Moments started to come and go. Donghyuk remembers hearing some distinct noises, being thrown into a truck and the bodies of his friends next to him before his mind slipped away.

_Mark…_

* * *

Kun was looking for YangYang like crazy since he had promised the younger to teach him how to cook. The weird thing was that he couldn’t find him anywhere, he wasn’t even answering his phone. Kun had those YangYang senses and somehow knew something was happening. When he saw the four youngest members of their team talking with Jungwoo in the main operating hall, he went to them.

‘’Hey guys, have you seen Yangyang? I had an agreement with him and I can’t find him. He’s not even answering his phone which is really unusual for him.’’

Jungwoo looked at him curiously. ‘’Weird, I was looking for Donghyuk as well. We were supposed to go to the nursery today but he didn’t show up, he usually doesn’t miss those stuff’’

‘’Guys, you won’t find them tonight’’ said Chenle while looking at his phone.

‘’W-why?’’ asked Kun

‘’Because they went partying.’’ Said Jisung with a shrug.

‘’Party? What party?’’ asked Jungwoo.

‘’Hyunjin organized a party, but I didn’t feel like going out tonight, I was invited as well’’ said Shotaro as he rubbed his neck.

‘’Weird, Hyuk really didn’t mention it. We go to the therapy together and when he can’t come he tells me and we reschedule.’’

‘’I don’t know guys; I have a bad feeling. Maybe it’s paranoia’’ just as Kun said that, another door opens and in the hall enter Jaehyun, Doyoung and Johnny.

‘’Um…. guys? Who is on a mission?’’ asks carefully Johnny

‘’No on that we know of, except the people in SuperM. Why?’’ answers Jungwoo.

‘’Well’’ starts carefully Doyoung, ‘’the manager met us in the halls just now and gave us this folder. It has nothing in it, only the code of the mission. He said even if things were digital, he wanted paper copies.’’

‘’Oh boy...’’ murmurs Sungchan.

‘’You don’t mean…’’ Kun pales at the thought, which now was highly likely.

‘’Let me check the code’’ says Jungwoo and quickly gets to work.

Everyone is silent, secretly hoping that they were wrong. Unfortunately, they weren’t.

**Mission status** _: in progress_

**Leader** : _none chosen_

 **Agents** : _Lee Donghyuk/Haechan - interrogation, wide-range combat, mostly on the sidelines when in offence_

_Lee Jeno/Jeno - mainly in wide range combat, protects the strategist_

_Na Jaemin/Jaemin_ \- _mainly in close range combat, knows the basics of wide range combat, protects the strategist._

_Huang Renjun/Renjun - strategist_

_Liu YangYang/YangYang - the gambler or the trickster, the master brain when the mission requires trickery_

 **Subunit** : _NCT U_

Jehyun said what everyone was thinking, not caring whether there were kids in the room” Well fuck…”

* * *

Haechan woke to a dry throat and an awful taste in his mouth. He could barely move his body, the sedative still having some relaxing effect on his muscles. He definitely felt different in comparison to the other times he’s taken such pills. He could feel the adrenalin slowly rushing through his body, sending signal to all of his organs to start working harder and faster in order to survive, trying to simulate life-death situation for more adrenaline to start coursing in his body and get him to move.

Multiple groans were heard, even someone throwing up. Donghyuk couldn’t help himself and say.

‘’Betting this is YangYang’’ he says as he rolls from his stomach onto his back and making the nausea subside.

‘’Fuck you Hyuck’’ yep, it was definitely him.

‘’Man, I never want to do drugs again, I feel like shit…’’ murmurs barely Jaemin.

‘’We…. we need to get up and get our job done.’’ Says Jeno, who barely moves.

Renjun, who is able to move more than the rest notices something. ‘’Guys….look, a tray…. I think it’s with food.’’ Barely finding the power to, he moves towards the tray close to the door. It has a note to it.

 _‘’Eat this and the side effects will go down faster, the key is tucked into the bread, don’t worry, I made sure I cleaned it’_ ’

YangYang snorts ‘’ What a nerd- ‘’ and vomits again.

It took them longer than they care to admit, maybe around an hour before they manage to get up on their feet. Using the key, they manage to silently unlock their cell. Jaemin successfully sneaked in on the guard and disabled him. That’s how they proceed, slowly, finding weapons and preparing to storm the place. On the front Jaemin, Jeno and Haechan taking the back, Renjun and YangYang ready with the trickery and strategies.

* * *

‘’C’mon Mark! Cheer up! You’re soon going to see him! I’m sure he misses you just as much as you him!’’ says Lucas, his high voice reckoning in the small elevator.

‘’I’m sure there’s also something else he misses’’ mischievously muses Ten, nudging Mark knowingly, who only blushed.

‘’It’s not like that. He actually texted me 5 hours ago.’’ Said Mark with a scowl on his face.

‘’Wait, he did?! Why aren’t you happy about it?’’ asks Taeyong, seeing the expression on Mark’s face. He was a witness how cold their parting was when SuperM left for America and the fact those two hadn’t talked to each other for months was another reason for worry. Maybe now the distance and time alone wasn’t what they needed. Taeyong knew how much they loved each other, but it didn’t mean that this situation wasn’t a bit complicated.

Mark scowled, not liking the possibilities coming to mind. ‘’The text was like the ones we send each other when we go on missions without each other. From what I know and after asking Johnny-hyung, there are no new missions, still my gut feeling is not good. ‘’

Ten, seeing the seriousness of the matter gave Mark a side-hug, even if the boy wasn’t much for it. ‘’Everything will be fine; they’re probably somewhere goofing around or he may be studying’’ he tries to assure the boy. ‘’Man, I’ve missed my baby YangYang, can’t wait to go and cuddle him’’

They all snickered just as the elevator stopped. Their calmness soon vanished when they heard yells behind the doors from the main conference room.

When they entered it, they saw all of the members around the big computers, arguing and discussing plans for action. Realizing the seriousness of the situation and Taeyong cursing how he was never going to get a break, they rushed forward in time to hear Winwin say ‘’...he couldn’t have blocked everything Jungwoo, try checking every camera in the area, there must be one that YangYang hasn’t secured.’’

‘’That’s what I’m trying to do hyung, give me some time’’ murmured Jungwoo, ignoring most o the commotion.

‘’What’s going on? Why the whole- ‘’ Taeyong started and stopped the moment he saw the mission file and the glowing orange “in progress” sign for a new mission.

‘’Tae, the boys went on a mission we didn’t know about. Here it says it was just tracking mission. They were supposed to be here already.’’ Taeil says in a rush.

Mark could barely hear what the others were saying. His eyes were rapidly scanning the file, all the details about said mission, seeing how it was supposed to be fast and already completed. After all the scanning his eyes always came back to his boyfriend, seeing him part of this. It explained his message.

‘’What do we know as of now?’’ asked Taeyong in his leader voice.

‘’Well, they were assigned this mission a few days ago, started it tonight, went out 5 hours ago and we have no news from them as of then. We’re trying to track them but YangYang has blocked the access to all surveillance camera out there. Jungwoo has been trying to crack the code for about half an hour and gave up, deciding to search for another missed camera.’’ Yuta explains, worry clear in his voice.

‘’Shit…’’ murmured Lucas as he scanned everything and how Jungwoo’s search came futile.

‘’Jungwoo, open the riddle YangYang made, I may be able to answer it’’ says Ten as he comes closer to the computer.

Jungwoo stares at him, contemplating it and nodding after that. When he opens it, they all see rows and rows of words, symbols and numbers no one could make any sense of. The hacker sighs. ‘’I tried so many programs, I can’t figure it out.’’

‘’I can, though’’ Ten murmurs as he starts furiously typing on the keyboard and soon breaking the code. Everyone gaped at him ‘’ What? Don’t forget that I’m also a hacker and the counterpart of YangYang. I taught him some of the tricks he knows.’’

After gaining the access they all needed, they started going through all the tapes. Everyone saw how the group entered the backyard and split into two groups and then into three. They saw how Jaemin was having the time of his life in beer pong but also watching over the other two, Renjun dancing and Jeno watching both of them. How someone went to Renjun and danced with him, slipping something in his pocket. When they managed to see his face, they heard Mark growl. ‘’What is he doing there?’’

They had to see how the three of them made out, with Hendery noticing a pattern of Renjun going through both of them as if giving something.

They saw YangYang having fun at a pool, Jihoo again giving him some spare balloons and then entering the house. It was after Jungwoo searching another camera that they saw the boy again, sitting at a computer and probably at that moment hacking the surveillance system.

In the end they saw Hyuck at the yard, presumably chilling but they knew his habits all too well by now and they knew he was waiting for something. Or someone.

Jisung whistled when they saw the same person going to Haechan, sharing a cigarette with him (at which both Mark and Taeyong scowled) and talking, staying with him until they both panicked for a few seconds and then Jihoo, giving Haechan something and the second boy hastily taking it. The atmosphere became tense when Hyuck lost consciousness and they all had to watch the five boys being disposed into a van that drove away.

‘’I can’t be the only one who noticed how this whole thing is planned. They were all in different parts of the house and suddenly we find them in the front yard in convenient places? You can all agree with me that no matter how intoxicated we get during missions we always manage to find good hideouts.’’ Said Xiaojun after watching the whole stuff.

‘’They found what they needed. Why did they continue with this, though?’’ muttered Shotaro.

‘’Because they’re all idiots, that’s why.’’ Said Yuta, angry at the whole situation. ‘’Those kids wanted to play the heroes probably. Jungwoo, can you track the plate number of the van, we need to go there and get them back’’

‘’On it.’’ Said Jungwoo and at the same time they heard a beeping sound.

All of them turned towards the mission file.

**Mission status** _: completed_

**Leader** : _none chosen_

 **Agents** : _Lee Donghyuk/Haechan - interrogation, wide-range combat, mostly on the sidelines when in offence_

_Lee Jeno/Jeno - mainly in wide range combat, protects the strategist_

_Na Jaemin/Jaemin_ \- _mainly in close range combat, knows the basics of wide range combat, protects the strategist._

_Huang Renjun/Renjun - strategist_

_Liu YangYang/YangYang - the gambler or the trickster, the master brain when the mission requires trickery_

 **Team:** _NCT_ **Subunit** : _NCT U_

Before anyone could process what was happening, Jungwoo reacted and tracked the signal from where the boys signed into the system. He managed to turn on a camera for all of them to look at the boys. Jungwoo turned the audio on and they started listening to their conversation.

The five boys from their team were covered in blood but didn’t look really hurt. That calmed a bit their teammates.

Jaemin was still walking around, his hair ruffled and his gestures going around the whole place. ‘’Man, this was way easier than I expected.’’

Renjun scoffed in Jeno’s lap, both of them looking tired while sitting on the coach, but in better condition than Haechan. The Chinese turned towards the third boy. ‘’Hyuk, how are you feeling?’’

‘’Like shit Injun. I can barely move, I feel like collapsing, I don’t even know how I managed to stay up for so long.’’ The boy murmured as he was sitting on the floor, leaning on the wall. Mark’s heart hurt looking at him like that, he was supposed to be there and protect him. ‘’No offence Jihoo, your thing was good and it did help us with all of those people, but I’m never doing it again.’’

‘’Never would’ve guessed you’ll feel the after effects so fast and so strong? Are you on other medications?’’ Jihoo mused as he watched all of the boys while sitting close to the computer next to YangYang.

‘’Some painkillers for my ankle, two months ago I got badly hurt during a mission and I’ve been going through some therapy for it.’’

‘’Jesus Hyuck, you were supposed to tell me’’

‘’No big deal’’ Haechan murmured as he tried to make himself comfortable. He was the closest to falling asleep.

‘’I have to admit, this was really fun. Like, I didn’t really like throwing my guts out but the adrenaline rush and all that? If that’s how junkies feel, I understand, but no more.’’ Said YangYang as he laughed.

‘’So what now? Do you think the others noticed something unusual? It won’t be the first time to stay out until really late but, yeah’’ asked Jeno, adjusting his position on the coach, making sure neither he nor Renjun were to fall off.

‘’Hmm, I doubt it, we made sure to make things really well hidden. But I’m not sure how we’ll explain our after effects’’ answered Jaemin as he sat next to Jeno and took Renjun in his lap, the small boy snuggling nicely into him.

‘’They won’t, don’t worry. My code is unbreakable so even if they try to decipher it maybe only Ten will be able to do it and he’s away with SuperM and they’ll need time to send it to him, which will take a lot of time for various reasons. We’re cool.’’

Johnny couldn’t handle it and turned on the microphone they had and spoke ‘’I’m not really sure about that. You’re in very big trouble young men.’’

The boys stilled, even Renjun and Haechan who were on the verge of falling asleep woke up a bit.

Jungwoo took that as a que to turn on their camera.

They boys were met with angry, worried and disappointed faces.

‘’Liu YangYang’’ sterted Ten.

‘’Huang Renjun’’ continued Kun.

‘’Lee Jeno!’’ exclaimed Doyoung.

‘’Na Jaemin, seriously’’ went on Jaehyun.

‘’Seriously Lee Donghyuk…’’ finished Taeyong.

But Donghyuk only had eyes for Mark and vice versa, both staring but not daring to talk.

‘’Young men, just wait when you get back here’’ threatened Taeil.

Yuta smirked, now that he saw the five boys were fine he could let out his evil side ‘’ I can’t wait.’’

‘’Wops, you got in trouble’’ whispered Jihoo but for his bad luck, Jaehyun heard him.

‘’You better shut up, you’ll have your fare share too.

‘’What? But I’m not a part of your team, what the- ‘’

But as they all continued to argue back and forth, Mar kept on watching Hyuck and that’s why he was the only who saw the man getting close to him.

‘’Hyuck, watch out!’’ but it was too late when the man got him into his hold, hauled him up and pointed a gun towards his temple. ‘’Nobody move or his brain will decorate the walls!’’ yelled desperately, covered in blood and wounds. They all wondered how he was still alive with them.

‘’Okay, okay, let’s be rational and calm. He has nothing to do with this, let him go’’ said carefully Jihoo, with his hands raised up. He was really on edge about Hyuck’s position, the other boys were tired, he had to do something.

‘’Nothing to do with this? I almost died because of him!’’

‘’What do you want?’’ asked Hyuck, grunting from the pressure of the gun against his head.

‘’Good pills you have there dude, I managed to take one, I almost died, yeah, almost died……Anyway, give me the rest, slowly and no funny business. Especially from the people on the other side of the call’’

Jihoo scowled, Mark was ready to rush over there, rationality be damned, even if he didn’t know where to head, he wanted to sprint.

‘’Okay, good, I’ll give you what you want. Just promise that Hyuck will be unharmed.’’ Jihoo stalled. He saw Jeno slowly and out sight going for his pocket, thankful that Jaemin’s and Renjun’s position left him partially out of sight.

But before anyone could do anything, they all heard a swish sound and an arrow struck the goon head right between his eyebrows. He and Donghyuk collapsed and Jihoon wasted no time in going and collecting Haechan. As he held him, they all started looking around them.

‘’No way….’’ Murmured YangYang.

Soon another arrow landed next to him and all of them clearly saw the logo of Red Velvet.

Renjun laughed ‘’Well, I’d be damned, that’s unexpected.’’

YangYang saw a small note on the arrow and took it out. ‘’Good job, even though those goons were our business, who could’ve thought our missions would cross. We owe you help with another mission. Seulgi’’ Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the realization that the danger was truly away now.

Another swish was heard and a third arrow landed next to the second with another note. YangYang took it out and read ‘’And Taeyong, control your kids a bit more, will ya? Irene’’ and at that they laughed. ‘’ We will bring them home, breathe easily.’’

They all heard girls giggling.

* * *

Because of the after effects and some individual symptoms for the boys, they all had to be hospitalized for five days. YangYang was unable to eat normal food for the duration of three days, throwing up most of what he consumed; Jaemin was unable to fall asleep for 24 hours straight and then slept 24 hours straight; Donghyuk felt general weakness and could barely move, his hurt ankle was numb for a whole day; Jeno wasn’t able to get full rest and the others constantly found him in periods of sleeping or staying awake; Renjun suffered from migraine for four days straight.

The others kept taking care of them. When they got better, they had team meeting and decided to leave out some mission details from the documents because they risked sanctions and probation. The manager was happy that in the end the mission was successful but asked for no more such risks as it was pure luck that Red Velvet appeared and helped. The five boys were persuaded ach to share 15% of the salary with Jihoo for the used materials.

The worst wasn’t that. The boys were banned from going on missions for a month and had to help with different chores in the base. Jeno had to help Taeil with cooking; Jaemin was to help Johnny with taking care of their weapons; Renjun and Doyoung took care of inventory; YangYang was to be with Hendery and Xiaojun on surveillance duty; Donghyuk was to take care of mission documentary together with Mark, dealing with piles and piles of old files.

The situation between Mark and Donghyuk was tense. Hyuck felt his whole muscles tensed up because he knew that they needed to talk about their issue. When they started working and sorting out the folders in teams, units and years, Haechan spoke first.

‘’You saw my message’’ he murmured, not being able to look into his eyes as he was sorting down the Red Velvet pile.

‘’Yeah, I did’’ murmured Mark, looking through EXO files.

‘’You didn’t text me back’’

‘’I was in the plane when you sent me the message. When we landed and I saw it, I just…. I just felt like I needed to tell you this eye to eye.’’

Hyuck stopped sorting out the file for Irene&Seulgi missions. ‘’and yet, you’ve said nothing’’ as he was saying that, the younger boy turned towards Mark, who was already staring at him.

‘’When Hyuck? While you were lying down there, with a gun pointed at your head? Or when you were five days lying in bed, unable to get up or move?’’

‘’Stop finding excuses Mark. Even now, I’m the one starting this conversation. My guess is that you wouldn’t even have texted me’’

Mark leaves the pile and walks towards Hyuck, invading his personal space. ‘’Are you really trying to put the whole blame on me? I know that no matter how many times I say I was going to talk to you when I got back, you won’t believe me.’’

‘’And maybe you’re right’’ Donghyuk answered back, feeling pressure behind his eyes. He wasn’t going to cry.

‘’Hyuck, it wasn’t just me who didn’t reach out. For two months you were silent.’’

‘’So were you! We were told to take it easy, have rest and what did you do? Went to fucking America on another mission and left me all alone!’’

‘’Maybe I needed it too! Maybe sitting in one place is not what I need! We’ve done it so many times before, why are you making an issue now?’’

‘’Because of the PTSD you dope! Because we both have it! Because you never left for a mission when you have such strong symptoms! Maybe because I care about you! And maybe, maybe because I needed you here with me for my PTSD!’’ he yelled the last part, tears going down his face.

Mark kept silent, listening, daring to touch the younger boy’s elbows. Haechan didn’t move away.

‘’Maybe I needed you, after such a close call. You know that I’ve never had such a close call…. I almost died. My ankle was fucked up, I couldn’t walk, felt vulnerable, weak, I had nightmares. And I knew, I knew you dealt with it too, I needed your help to go through it, together with you.’’ He was really crying now. ‘’It’s true that I had the rest next to me, believe it or not I was asked if I wanted to go on that mission. Jungwoo was going to the therapies with me, for the PTSD, for the ankle. Kun and Taeil invited me to cook with them, Johnny would come and cuddle me, but it wasn’t enough. I needed you and knowing you only went to America to try and run from the problem really pissed me off.’’

Mark slowly and carefully hugged him. He wasn’t surprised that Hyuck let him. No matter how much they fought at times, Haechan always needed and sought the physical comfort.

‘’I’m sorry Hyuck, I really am. I just…. I felt so overwhelmed. It was just mission after mission, each one that followed harder and I couldn’t take it. I was so angry, at myself and at the situation. I’m supposed to follow you, keep you safe but we got separated. Next thing I know, I heard Yuta’s voice in the intercom, saying how he managed to find you and Jungwoo, both of you hurt, almost managing to save you. I just needed to be away, looking at you in the hospital, at your injuries just brought too much anger and guilt. And yes, I know I should’ve talked about it with you, I realized it when I was already in America and cried my soul to Taeyong. But Hyuck, it was way easier to run away…’’Donghyuk could hear how thick his voice was, he was crying too.

They stood like that, until they both felt like they’ve calmed enough. With red eyes and puffy faces, they looked at each other. Without saying anything, Haechan leant forward and kissed Mark’s lips lightly. ‘’Let’s…. let’s finish this here. At least some of the sorting. I’m scared of reaching SHINee, because we all know we’re gonna need a lot of time for them.’’ The comment made Mark giggle and it warmed Haechan’s heart. ‘’Then we’ll make some hot chocolate and talk some more in my or your room. We will do this Mark, overcome this, together. We have some long way to walk and I’m not saying I’m okay or that I’ve forgiven you, but we can do this together.’’

Mark hummed and with one last kiss at his forehead they went back to sorting, things back to normal with Donghyuck’s whining and Mark laughing at him.


End file.
